About This Site

My name is Graham and I'm from Canada. In 2010, I had double jaw surgery to correct my class-3 malocclusion (also know as a "severe underbite").

You can follow my day-by-day road to recovery on this blog. It took just over 90 days for my life to return to normal and the changes were well worth the trouble. If your bite has been bothering you for a while, I highly recommend this operation to correct it.

Before and After Photos

These photos and X-rays were taken both before and after my double jaw surgery experience. They do a decent job of showing the drastic change that took place on the operating table.

Before the surgery

These X-rays show my bite when I first got braces in 2008 and again two years later when my teeth are aligned. The photos demonstrate what I looked like just before having surgery.

A few things to note here are how poorly my teeth fit together and the fact that my lower jaw extends beyond my top jaw (ie. underbite). I never realized quite how crooked my bite was before the braces worked their magic.

Feb 11, 2008 — I just had braces put on in this X-ray. Notice the underbite!

May 10, 2010 — These X-rays were taken three months after surgery. My underbite is no more!

May 10, 2010 — My journey to becoming a robot begins here.

Jun 22, 2010 — I’m still a bit swollen in these photos, but notice how my upper jaw now sits ahead of my lower jaw. As a bonus, my smile is more confident now!

That pretty much sums it up! If you have any questions about jaw surgery, feel free to post them in the comments!

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40 Comments

Thank you for sharing your journey. It does help mea lot in the preparation for the double jaw surgery. Today is my 3rd day post surgery and I am feeling the tension of the incision and couldn’t sleep well after the surgery.

i had lower jae surgry 1 year ago…everything was fine till 1 year but again now i am noticing a little underbite…is jaw growimg agai?…i am having braces currently…so the reason for underbite is teeth moving or jaw growing ?…does jaw grow aftr surgry…i am currently 20 right now

Hello,
I am getting double jaw surgery in 5 days and I’m extremely nervous. I’m nervous about having permanent nerve damage although my doctor tells me the chances of that happening are very slim since I am young (18) and very healthy.
Thank you.

Hi, I have been thinking about doing the surgery to correct my overbite but i have being weight out the risks vs rewards. My doctor told me that i have a higher risk of having permanent numbness as my lower jaw have to be moved out more than the usual. Have u suffered any permanent numbness and if so, is it really bad? Thank you!

Yanda, I have permanent numb patches in half of my lower lip and chin, but they no longer bother me and I honestly don’t even remember they exist until someone asks about them. If you do end up with permanent loss of feeling, your brain can usually adjust quite quickly to the damaged nerves and will stop triggering the “pins and needles” feeling that is commonly associated with numbness. I recall it taking about 6 months before I stopped noticing my numb areas. 😊

Thanks for the reply. I have decided to go ahead with the surgery but it will happen only in 2018 as i have to put on braces first for around 1.5 years.
How much is your speech affected after the surgery? Im a little concern as i will be doing the surgery amidst my uni days. Thanks in advance.

It will be very difficult to speak during the first month of recovery because you may have a splint in your mouth. After that, speech returns quite quickly. That being said, there is never a “convenient” time for this surgery, so during university is as good a time as any to go through it. Just be sure to explain to your friends and professors beforehand that you’ll likely be unable to participate in conversations for the first few weeks. 😊

(As a side note, the reason I started this blog in the first place was because I couldn’t speak to anyone during the first month and I wanted to be able to explain how I was feeling to friends and family.)

Hi graham , im about to do my double jaw surgery in korea at march 2017 . I would like to ask you what to prepare and how does it feels after surgery ? Have u experienced any unbearable pain after doing surgery ? Thanks

Leni, exciting to hear you’ll be having the surgery early next year! If you read through the Recovery Tips, Recovery Timeline, and Common Questions pages on this site, you should be able to find answers to your questions. Overall, the recovery is not really painful, but it is very frustrating and tiring. If you have any specific questions after reading the pages I mentioned, let me know! 😊

Hi Graham ! Ive read the page . I have some concern that scared me its like as what my dentist told me is a big surgery and dangerous im scared to imagine that i will cut my skull which is a hard bone and the after effect like temporary numbness . What do u mean by frustating ? What amkes u frustated after did surgery ?

Leni, the recovery can be frustrating due to being unable to speak clearly and eat solid food for the first month. As long as you have someone to take care of you for the first few weeks, you’ll do great!

If you have other questions, please join the chat group. There are numerous people who are currently in recovery, so they’ll be able to explain exactly how they’re feeling. 😊

Thanks Graham uve been so helpful 🙂
Theres one thing that also makes me very nervous about ghis surgery as my dentist told me is a big surgery and very dangerous . Do u think so ? And also how long until the numbness gone ? Thanks so much

Jenny, have you tried blending Campbell’s Chunky soups? You can even heat them up before blending them so they taste better. They are a nice change from the sweet shakes and should be able to tie you over for the next little while. 😊

Glad to hear the heat is providing a bit of comfort for you! I wasn’t able to start eating soft food until I had my splint out at the end of my 7th week. So if you have a splint in, you’ll likely have to wait until your surgeon removes it. If you do not have a splint, you’ll probably be allowed to start eating soft food by the end of the first month, but definitely wait for your surgeon’s approval before doing so. 😊

My swelling was really bad for the first 2 weeks, but then it started decreasing noticeably each day. I found the only thing that really caused it to increase temporarily was speaking too much throughout the day.

hi again graham,
i have read your whole blog but i forget if you ever had to wear elastics on your back teeth. if you did, did they cut your cheeks and what did you do about it? because mine are killing me.
thanks 🙂

I wore elastics around the braces on my molars, but my braces cut into my cheeks regardless of whether I had the elastics on or not. I think that’s because swelling makes your cheeks puff out, so there’s simply less space between the braces and your cheeks.

Many orthodontists will give you wax that you can put over your braces to protect against the sharp parts, but I found that to be more annoying than helpful (plus, I kept swallowing the wax when it fell off). So truthfully, I just dealt with the pain and once my swelling went down, the problem went away. If it’s causing you a lot of grief, I recommend trying the wax to see if you can make it work for you. 😊

Hi thanks for replying. my actual braces aren’t hurting me im used to those tears, its only the elastic bands that have been a real problem. my ortho has told me to take them off and let the gashes in my cheek heal, then try again.
thanks 🙂

Sarah, I don’t recall my incisions re-opening. If this is happening, it could be due to an infection, especially if there is pain associated with it. I recommend calling your surgeon’s office to ask about this just in case you need an anti-biotic for it.

Hi Salman, fixing the shape of your nose may be possible at the same time as fixing your jaw, but I think it will cost extra because it is not related to your jaw. I recommend asking a surgeon about this possibility.

hey! it’s not necessarily gonna be fixed by the op, but actually, the little bump in my upper nose was totally straightened out by my double jaw surgery for my underbite. I’m currently 16 days post op and my nose is a smooth slope now 😄. people have actually commented that this change is almost as big as the change to my mouth.

Hi DJ, my surgeon was not able to safely move my jaws enough to arrive at a perfect bite. As far as I understand, this surgery, like many, has a bit of give and take to it. If my surgeon had moved my jaw to close my bite, there may have been undue pressure or stress on another part of my face that might have caused other longterm problems.

That being said, my open bite did eventually close after a couple of years of patience, so it ended up not being a longterm thing.

Hi TallKnowItAll. My surgeon said he feared my body would relapse and try to move my jaw back to its former position if he moved it too far. I’m not sure how that plays out medically, but I trusted his opinion on the matter.

The metal loop was an appliance attached to my braces that served to keep my upper palette expanded until the bone fused back together.

Thanks for the replies!! Just one more question, did they ever get your molars on your left side to touch correctly? Your story about traveling the world, after getting a computer degree, and then meeting your wife is really cool. It kinda makes you realize everything happens for a reason. Had you gone the traditional route and pursued a desk job right after graduation rather than travel the world you would have never met your wife. Pretty crazy to think.

The molars on the left side of my bite still have a 2–3mm gap between them, so they do not touch. However, this open bite does not negatively affect any part of my life because I am still able to chew everything without any problems. I’m not sure if my brain adjusted my chewing to compensate or if it’s simply not a problem, but either way it does not bother me.

And I’m glad you find my personal story interesting! I had no intention of meeting anyone on that initial trip 4 years ago, but it was a welcome change of plans when it happened. Hope you’re doing well!

“Over the past several years, I’ve done my best to respond to every comment on this blog, but unfortunately I no longer have the time to do so. If you have questions about jaw surgery and want to connect with others on this journey, please join the live chat group. Don't worry — it's free!”